The forward made the difference in the fourth quarter
Semi Ojeleye leads Valencia past Lietkabelis, 91-96
Valencia Basket became the first team to qualify to the BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals after downing 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 91-96 on the road in Round 15 on Tuesday. Valencia improved to 13-2 in Group B and locked at least second place at the end of the regular season, enough to skip the eighthfinals and play the single-game quarterfinals at La Fonteta. Lietkabelis dropped to 4-10 and could be mathematically out of the playoff race at the end of this round.
Semi Ojeleye led the winners with 20 points. Jaime Pradilla, Chris Jones and Jean Montero each added 14, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui had 13 and Nate Reuvers got 11 for Valencia. Martynas Varnas led Lietkabelis with 19 points. Paulius Danusevicius added 14, Georgios Kalaitzakis 13, Djordje Gagic 11 and Dovis Bickauskis 10.
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Montero got Valencia going with a jumper and then he bettered Gagic's jump hook with a triple. After Danusevicius banked in a close shot, Pradilla followed a three-pointer with a layup. Kalaitzakis's jumper drew Lietkabelis within 6-9. Gagic scored again and followed Kakaitzakis's jumper with a dunk to put the hosts ahead, 12-11. Lopez-Arostegui stepped up for Valencia with 7 quick points to put his team in charge, 14-18. After Danusevicius struck from downtown, Jones followed a driving layup with a jumper. Ojeleye sank a corner triple for a 19-25 Valencia lead. Montero and Gagic traded baskets and then Aminah Brimah boosted the visitors' lead to 21-28 after 10 minutes.
Bickauskis struck from beyond the arc early in the second quarter and Grantas Vasiliauskas dunked to make it 26-30. Lipkevicius sank a jumper and an unstoppable Vasiliauskas dunked three more times to give Lietkabelis a 34-33 lead. After Jones buried a floater, Reuvers, Lopez-Arostegui, Oleksandr Kovliar, Montero and Varnas each struck from downtown for a 40-44 score. Jones and Josep Puerto also buried one triple apiece, which prompted the hosts to call timeout at 40-50. Kalaitzakis and Bickauskis fueled a 6-0 Lietkabelis run, but Jones restored a 46-52 Valencia edge at halftime.
Pradilla scored twice around the rim right after the break. Lipkevicius beat the shot clock with a three-pointer and got help from Gagic and Danusevicius to bring Lietkabelis within 55-56. After Matt Costello buried a three-pointer, Varnas answered with a driving layup and Kovliar struck from downtown, which led to a Valencia timeout at 60-59. Reuvers stepped up with a layup and erased Varnas's alley-oop basket with a dunk. Bickauskis followed a driving layup with a bomb from downtown, Ojeleye made a corner triple and Danusevicius set a 69-68 Lietkabelis lead. Kalaitzakis followed a jumper with a layup, but Pradilla scored again and Lopez-Arostegui's three-pointer kept Valencia within 74-73 through three quarters.
Puerto struck from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter. Kalaitzakis banked in an off-balance shot, which Varnas followed with a backdoor layup for a 78-76 Lietkabelis lead. Ojeleye took over with back-to-back three-pointers in a 0-8 run that he capped with free throws. Lipkevicius and Varnas each struck from downtown, but a red-hot Ojeleye single-handedly kept Valencia in charge, 84-90, with 3 minutes left. Danusevicius stepped up with a close basket that Montero improved with an eight-meter bomb. Varnas hit free throws and added a triple that gave Lietkabelis hope at 91-93. Jones silenced the crowd with a wild three-point play that sealed the outcome.